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Powersuppliesareavailableinawiderangeofvoltageandcurrentratings.IfIhaveadevicethathasspecificvoltageandcurrent
ratings,howdothoserelatetothepowerratingsIneedtospecify?WhatifIdon'tknowthedevice'sspecs,butamreplacinga
previouspowersupplywithparticularratings?
IsitOKtogolowervoltage,orshoulditalwaysbehigher?Whataboutcurrent?Idon'twanta10Asupplytodamagemy1Adevice.
voltage current

editedJul7'12at0:02
RyanEdwards
103
2

askedJun28'12at21:54
OlinLathrop
136k
14
144

326

29 IthinkI'veseenthisquestionbefore).Allinfavorofmakingthisthecanonical"consumerelectronicspower
supplyquestion"vote+1!W5VO Jun28'12at23:05

Notsure.Iwonderifthewordingmightnotbecleartothekindofpersonwhoneedstoaskthiskindofquestion.
RocketmagnetJun28'12at23:53

Wordingmightneedadjusting,butIagreewiththeideaIthinkwecoulddefinitelydowithaCommunityWikion
choosingtherightpowersupply.OliGlaserJun29'12at1:29

Ihaveatrickyonethatyoudidn'tthinkof.Model:ELP03PS1PRI:220240V~50/60Hz0,06ASEC:Constant
Current:DC350mA0,5V...7,2VConstantVoltage:DC8.5VI<=300mAtc:max.75CjippieJun29'12at17:55

Whoeverdownvotedthisquestion:Whatexactlydoyouthinkispoorlyasked,unclear,ambiguous,etc?Weget
questionscloselyrelatedtothisregularly,sothepurposewastowriteadetailedansweroncethatwecanpointtoin
thefuture.Thisquestionandanswerwasessentiallysolicitedinthemetapost
meta.electronics.stackexchange.com/a/1268/4512 OlinLathrop Jul7'12at20:30

tour

help

Takethe2minutetour

Choosingpowersupply,howtogetthevoltageandcurrentratings?

powersupply

signup

4Answers
VoltageRating
Ifadevicesaysitneedsaparticularvoltage,thenyouhavetoassumeitneedsthatvoltage.
Bothlowerandhighercouldbebad.
Atbest,withlowervoltagethedevicewillnotoperatecorrectlyinaobviousway.However,
somedevicesmightappeartooperatecorrectly,thenfailinunexpectedwaysunderjustthe
rightcircumstances.Whenyouviolaterequiredspecs,youdon'tknowwhatmighthappen.
Somedevicescanevenbedamagedbytoolowavoltageforextendedperiodsoftime.Ifthe
devicehasamotor,forexample,thenthemotormightnotbeabletodevelopenoughtorqueto
turn,soitjustsitstheregettinghot.Somedevicesmightdrawmorecurrenttocompensatefor
thelowervoltage,butthehigherthanintendedcurrentcandamagesomething.Mostofthe
time,lowervoltagewilljustmakeadevicenotwork,butdamagecan'tberuledoutunlessyou
knowsomethingaboutthedevice.
Higherthanspecifiedvoltageisdefinitelybad.Electricalcomponentsallhavevoltagesabove
whichtheyfail.Componentsratedforhighervoltagegenerallycostmoreorhavelessdesirable
characteristics,sopickingtherightvoltagetoleranceforthecomponentsinthedeviceprobably
gotsignificantdesignattention.Applyingtoomuchvoltageviolatesthedesignassumptions.
Someleveloftoomuchvoltagewilldamagesomething,butyoudon'tknowwherethatlevelis.
Takewhatadevicesaysonitsnameplateseriouslyanddon'tgiveitmorevoltagethanthat.

CurrentRating
Currentisabitdifferent.Aconstantvoltagesupplydoesn'tdeterminethecurrent:theload,
whichinthiscaseisthedevice,does.IfJohnnywantstoeattwoapples,he'sonlygoingtoeat
twowhetheryouput2,3,5,or20applesonthetable.Adevicethatwants2Aofcurrentworks
thesameway.Itwilldraw2Awhetherthepowersupplycanonlyprovidethe2A,orwhether
itcouldhavesupplied3,5,or20A.Thecurrentratingofasupplyiswhatitcandeliver,not
whatitwillalwaysforcethrutheloadsomehow.Inthatsense,unlikewithvoltage,thecurrent
ratingofapowersupplymustbeatleastwhatthedevicewantsbutthereisnoharminitbeing
higher.A9volt5ampsupplyisasupersetofa9volt2ampsupply,forexample.

ReplacingExistingSupply

Ifyouarereplacingapreviouspowersupplyanddon'tknowthedevice'srequirements,then
considerthatpowersupply'sratingtobethedevice'srequirements.Forexample,ifaunlabeled
devicewaspoweredfroma9Vand1Asupply,youcanreplaceitwitha9Vand1ormore
ampsupply.

AdvancedConcepts
Theabovegivesthebasicsofhowtopickapowersupplyforsomedevice.Inmostcasesthatis
allyouneedtoknowtogotoastoreoronlineandbuyapowersupply.Ifyou'restillabithazy
onwhatexactlyvoltageandcurrentare,it'sprobablybettertoquitnow.Thissectiongoesinto
morepowersupplydetailsthatgenerallydon'tmatterattheconsumerlevel,anditassumes
somebasicunderstandingofelectronics.

RegulatedversusUnregulated
Unregulated
VerybasicDCpowersupplies,calledunregulated,juststepdowntheinputAC(generally
theDCyouwantisatamuchlowervoltagethanthewallpoweryouplugthesupplyinto),
rectifyittoproduceDC,addaoutputcaptoreduceripple,andcallitaday.Yearsago,
manypowersupplieswerelikethat.Theywerelittlemorethanatransformer,fourdiodes
makingafullwavebridge(takestheabsolutevalueofvoltageelectronically),andthefilter
cap.Inthesekindsofsupplies,theoutputvoltageisdictatedbytheturnsratioofthe
transformer.Thisisfixed,soinsteadofmakingafixedoutputvoltagetheiroutputis
mostlyproportionaltotheinputACvoltage.Forexample,sucha"12V"DCsupplymight
make12Vat110VACin,butthenwouldmakeover13Vat120VACin.
Anotherissuewithunregulatedsuppliesisthattheoutputvoltagenotonlyisafunctionof
theinputvoltage,butwillalsofluctuatewithhowmuchcurrentisbeingdrawnfromthe
supply.Aunregulated"12volt1amp"supplyisprobablydesignedtoprovidetherated12
VatfulloutputcurrentandthelowestvalidACinputvoltage,like110V.Itcouldbeover
13Vat110Vinatnoload(0ampsout)alone,andthenhigheryetathigherinputvoltage.
Suchasupplycouldeasilyputout15V,forexample,undersomeconditions.Devicesthat
neededthe"12V"weredesignedtohandlethat,sothatwasfine.

Regulated
Modernpowersuppliesdon'tworkthatwayanymore.Prettymuchanythingyoucanbuy
asconsumerelectronicswillbearegulatedpowersupply.Youcanstillgetunregulated

suppliesfrommorespecializedelectronicssuppliersaimedatmanufacturers,
professionals,oratleasthobbyiststhatshouldknowthedifference.Forexample,Jameco
haswideselectionofpowersupplies.Theirwallwartsarespecificallydividedinto
regulatedandunregulatedtypes.However,unlessyougopokingaroundwherethe
averageconsumershouldn'tbe,youwon'tlikelyrunintounregulatedsupplies.Tryasking
foraunregulatedwallwartataconsumerstorethatsellsotherstufftoo,andthey
probablywon'tevenknowwhatyou'retalkingabout.
Aregulatedsupplyactivelycontrolsitsoutputvoltage.Thesecontainadditionalcircuitry
thatcantweaktheoutputvoltageupanddown.Thisisdonecontinuouslytocompensate
forinputvoltagevariationsandvariationsinthecurrenttheloadisdrawing.Aregulated1
amp12voltpowersupply,forexample,isgoingtoputoutprettycloseto12Voveritsfull
ACinputvoltagerangeandaslongasyoudon'tdrawmorethan1Afromit.

Universalinput
Sincethereiscircuitryinthesupplytotoleratesomeinputvoltagefluctuations,it'snot
muchhardertomakethevalidinputvoltagerangewiderandcoveranyvalidwallpower
foundanywhereintheworld.Moreandmoresuppliesarebeingmadelikethat,andare
calleduniversalinput.Thisgenerallymeanstheycanrunfrom90240VAC,andthatcan
be50or60Hz.

MinimumLoad
Somepowersupplies,generallyolderswitchers,haveaminimumloadrequirement.Thisis
usually10%offullratedoutputcurrent.Forexample,a12volt2ampsupplywitha
minimumloadrequirementof10%isn'tguaranteedtoworkrightunlessyouloaditwith
atleast200mA.Thisrestrictionissomethingyou'reonlygoingtofindinOEMmodels,
meaningthesupplyisdesignedandsoldtobeembeddedintosomeoneelse'sequipment
wheretherightkindofengineerwillconsiderthisissuecarefully.Iwon'tgointothismore
sincethisisn'tgoingtocomeuponaconsumerpowersupply.

CurrentLimit
Allsupplieshavesomemaximumcurrenttheycanprovideandstillsticktotheremaining
specs.Fora"12volt1amp"supply,thatmeansallisfineaslongasyoudon'ttrytodraw
morethantherated1A.
Therearevariousthingsasupplycandoifyoutrytoexceedthe1Arating.Itcouldsimply

blowafuse.SpecialtyOEMsuppliesthatarestrippeddownforcostcouldcatchfireor
vanishintoagreasycloudofblacksmoke.However,nowadays,themostlikelyresponseis
thatthesupplywilldropitsoutputvoltagetowhateverisnecessarytonotexceedthe
outputcurrent.Thisiscalledcurrentlimiting.Oftenthecurrentlimitissetalittlehigher
thantheratingtoprovidesomemargin.The"12V1A"supplymightlimitthecurrentto
1.1A,forexample.
Adevicethatistryingtodrawtheexcessivecurrentprobablywon'tfunctioncorrectly,but
everythingshouldstaysafe,notcatchfire,andrecovernicelyoncetheexcessiveloadis
removed.

Ripple
Nosupply,evenaregulatedone,cankeepitsoutputvoltageexactlyattherating.Usually
duetothewaythesupplyworks,therewillbesomefrequencyatwhichtheoutput
oscillatesalittle,orripples.Withunregulatedsupplies,therippleisadirectfunctionof
theinputAC.Basictransformerunregulatedsuppliesfedfrom60HzACwillgenerally
rippleat120Hz,forexample.Therippleofunregulatedsuppliescanbefairlylarge.To
abusethe12volt1ampexampleagain,theripplecouldeasilybeavoltortwoatfullload
(1Aoutputcurrent).Regulatedsuppliesareusuallyswitchersandthereforerippleatthe
switchingfrequency.Aregulated12V1Aswitchermightripple50mVat250kHz,for
example.Themaximumripplemightnotbeatmaximumoutputcurrent.
editedJul27'14at1:50
Ricardo
3,293
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46

answeredJun28'12at21:54
OlinLathrop
136k
14
144
326

23 Personally,IthinkJohnnyshouldn'tbesowastefulwithhisapples..OliGlaserJun29'12at0:25
1

+1!Whataboutsometipsoncurrentlimitingprotection?clabacchio Jun29'12at7:53

Onethingtobeawareofisoldmagnetictransformerplugpackshaveanoptimalloadrange,otherwisetheoutput
voltageincreases.And,someSMPScanhaveminimumloadcurrents.ThomasOJun29'12at7:58

@clabacchioandothers:Yes,thereisalotmorethatcanbesaidaboutpowersupplies,likecurrentlimiting,lowload
issues,minimumloadissues,regulationversusnot,ripple,etc,etc.Thisquestionisaimedatpeoplethatare

worriedtheir10Asupplywillkilltheir2Adevice,solet'skeepitsimplehere.Startanotherquestionwithpower
supplynuanceslikethosementionedandmore,andI'llbehappytoupvote. OlinLathrop Jun29'12at11:44

@variousResponders:Ithinkthatitisimportanttorealizethatpeopleaskingaquestionlikethisobviouslydon't
knowwhatcurrentis,letalonecurrentprotection.Samegoesfor'oldmagnetic'vs.'SMPS'and'ripple'.Onseveral
electronicssitesIseeenthousiastslikeusoverwhelmingvisitorswithsomuchinformationanddetails,somuchthat
theyleaveandprobablyneverdaretoreturn.Iknowalltoowell,itisapitfallofmyowntoo.jippieJun29'12at
20:43

Thethreemainparametersforapowersupplyare
voltage
typeofvoltage:ACorDC
current
Ifyourdeviceorbrokenwallwartsays9VDC,geta9VDCreplacement.Therightvoltage
andtypeofvoltageareimportant:atoohighvoltagemaydamageyourdevice,atoolow
voltagetoo,thoughthat'slesscommon.Butatatoolowvoltageitmaynotworkproperly.
Getapowersupplyatminimumtheratedcurrent.Ifthedevicesays500mA,getapower
supplythatcandeliveratleastthat.A100mAwallwartmayoverheatandsetyourhouseon
fireifnotproperlyprotected.A1000mAissafe,evenifyouonlyneed500mA.
Olinexplainedwithfruit,I'lltrytoexplainwithanotherflow:water.Ifmyfaucetcanfilla
bucketinaminutethat'sitsmaximumflow,orcurrent.That'sthe1000mAthewallwart
specifies.YetIcanopenthefaucetpartlytofillmyglass,andthenI'mthe500mAdevice.The
faucetstillcansupply10literperminute,butwillsupplylessifIaskforless.Icanaskfor
anythingaslongasitisn'tmorethanthe10literperminute.IfIwantonlyafewdropstofilla
thimbleI'llbea1mAdevice.Froma1000mAsupply.
answeredJun29'12at15:07
stevenvh
110k
9
335
552

Thetransformerinelectronics.stackexchange.com/questions/34754/says12V(AC)and35VA,itdoesn'tmention

currentatall.Iknowitisn'tanadapter,butforthesakeofthisdiscussionwhatifitwas?jippieJun29'12at17:46

Arelatedquestioncameuprecently:
I'dliketopowermynewLGM2450DmonitorwithabasicXLBXLNBTU02universalAC
DCpoweradapter.ThisPSUisrated90Wmaxandsupports1524Voutputvoltage.The
originalmonitorPSU(PA165068)wasfixedat19Vand3.32A.
Now,doingthemath:90W/19V=4.74A
Ofcoursethisisanidealvalue,whatis"safetymargin"ishouldassumefortherealmax
amperage?
Tobeconservativeinthefaceofambiguousspecificationslikethese,youshouldassumethat
themaximumpowerratingoftheuniversaladapteroccursatthemaximumoutputvoltage,
andthatallloweroutputvoltagesarelimitedtothesamecurrent.
Inthiscase,90W/24V=3.75A,soyoushouldbegoodtogowiththeoutputsetat19Vwith
thisamountofcurrent.
answeredSep23'12at0:48
DaveTweed
54.5k
6
58

110

Ifyouarereplacinga"wallwart"withasalvagedonethenthereareacouplemorethingstobe
awareofinadditiontowhattheothercommentershavealreadysaid.
AC/DC:Poweradapterscanoutputeitheralternatingcurrentordirectcurrent.Youmust
makesureitmatcheswhatthedeviceexpects.MostadaptersanddevicesareDC.Youcantell
bylookingatthesymbols:a"~"symbolmeansAC,a"="withadashedlinemeansDC.
Polarity:Ifyouareusinganadapterwiththeroundbarreljacks,thenbeawarethat
sometimesthecentreispositiveandtheoutsideisnegative,andsometimesitistheopposite.

Thismustmatchwhatthedeviceexpects,oritcoulddamagethedevice.Ifitdoesn'tmatch
thenthefixissimple,justcutthejackoffandswapthewiresaround.Therewillbeasymbol
ontheadaptershowingwhichispositiveandnegative.Usuallyit's"centrepositive".
answeredAug3'14at9:44
MrZebra
248
1
6

protectedbyCommunity Sep20'13at5:58
Thankyouforyourinterestinthisquestion.Becauseithasattractedlowqualityanswers,postingan
answernowrequires10reputationonthissite.
Wouldyouliketoansweroneoftheseunansweredquestionsinstead?